


Thought You Should Know

by PersonifiedKat



Series: Experiments and Throat Punches [2]
Category: The Last Kids on Earth (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Dirk gardens all day everyday, Dirk is protective, Dirk isn't jealous, Emotions, Light Angst, M/M, Quint gets flustered, Swearing, except he is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26481166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PersonifiedKat/pseuds/PersonifiedKat
Summary: Their first apocalyptic winter had finally passed. It had been… difficult, to say the least, and it had left its mark on all them.In Quint’s case, it had given him a new appreciation for warm weather.In Dirk’s case, it had encouraged him to take advantage of the seasons where he could garden and grow as much food as possible. Which meant he had taken to spending all hours of the day outside gardening… often shirtless.In June’s case, it had awakened a nosy streak. Apparently.In which Quint has developed a minor habit of ogling the largest of the last kids on earth, and June feels the need to question him about it.
Relationships: Quint Baker/Dirk Savage
Series: Experiments and Throat Punches [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923973
Kudos: 58





	Thought You Should Know

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again. Here's another little one-shot focusing on the Quint/Dirk ship. Starring June as her kind of rude and nosy self (sorry to any June lovers out there).  
> This particular one-shot takes place a little into the future, so I picture that the characters are definitely a little older, maybe in the 14-15 range. Perfect raging hormones age! Also the perfect time for any romantic interest between the characters to start being higher priority to the characters themselves, without them really having the confidence to act on those feelings yet. In my head canon, Quint would have figured out he was attracted to boys more so than girls pretty early, but never really wanted to talk about it. In fact, I think Quint would rather avoid talking about anything personal ever.  
> I still haven't completely settled on how I think Dirk's character would identify, but ultimately that he is definitely starting to feel things for Quint. 
> 
> Definitely still figuring out exactly how to write these characters, specifically Quint since he doesn't ever really use contractions and loves big words.  
> Anyway, as always, if you don't like m/m or this pairing, please feel free to move along.  
> Otherwise, enjoy!

“You know you’re staring, right?”

“Ahhh!” Quint squeaked, as he nearly toppled into their man-made mote. June laughed, catching him by the collar and pulling him and his chair back to rights. Once Quint had gotten his heart rate and breathing back under control, he levelled a glare at his friend.

“Was that really necessary?” He asked indignantly, busying his hands by collecting his somewhat scattered research papers. It was the second summer they had spent in the tree house since the apocalypse began, and on nice days, Quint had taken to doing as much research and experimenting outdoors as he possibly could. Their first apocalyptic winter had finally passed. It had been… difficult, to say the least, and it had left its mark on all of them.

In Quint’s case, it had given him a new appreciation for warm weather.

In Dirk’s case, it had encouraged him to take advantage of the seasons where he could garden and grow as much food as possible. Which meant he had taken to spending all hours of the day outside gardening… often shirtless.

In June’s case, it had awakened a nosy streak. Apparently.

“Hey it’s not my fault you were completely and entirely unaware of your surroundings.” She said, leaning forward so that she could rest her elbows on the table and her head in her hand. She smiled smugly as Quint blushed.

“So I was distracted, that is hardly unheard of.” Quint said, holding his chin high, “I was simply engrossed in my research.” June laughed.

“Oh yeah? And is Dirk your latest research subject? ‘Cause you seemed pretty frickin’ engrossed in him a minute ago.” Quint choked, eyes going wide. He slapped a hand across June’s mouth, eyes searching the area like a deer on an open plain.

“Could you keep your voice down?” Quint whispered harshly once he’d determined that Dirk was more than out of ear shot, and Jack was also nowhere nearby. June gave Quint a deadpanned look before spitting directly into his palm.”Gah!”

“I don’t hear any denials.” She said, wiping her face with the cuff of her sweater. She really wore that thing a lot.

Quint glared at her as he dried his hand on his khakis.

“I do not know what you are trying to imply.”

“Oh don’t you play dumb with me. Dumb looks horrible on you.” June scoffed, pushing some papers aside so she could hop up on the table. “What’s the big deal anyway? It’s not like I’m judging. I mean…” June looked pointedly In Dirk’s direction, “You’d need to be blind not to notice and appreciate _that_.”

Despite his best efforts, Quint couldn’t help following her gaze. Once there, he couldn’t regret it.

Dirk was clearly taking a short break from tending his crops, reaching up to wipe his sweaty forehead with his long since discarded shirt. The way the muscles in his arms and chest played throughout the movement was mesmerising. Once done, he grabbed one of his giant water jugs, tilted his head back and started chugging. Quint would never have guessed that watching an attractive man drink water could be so captivating. Perhaps, it was the way his Adam’s apple was bobbing rhythmically with each swallow. Or perhaps it was simply the way Dirk wore his shorts, hanging low off the trim angles of his waist and hips…

Quint whimpered, hiding his blushing face in his hands as June snickered once again.

“You’re cruel.” Quint whined, peaking up at the chuckling girl through his fingers.

“Maybe a little, but I’m just trying to prove a point.” June smiled, “You think he’s hot, and I think that’s cute.”

Quint frowned.

“Well, I am so glad to have amused you.” Quint turned back to his research papers, this time making to gather them up and head elsewhere, “Now if you will excuse me, I do actually have research I would prefer to get done-“

“Hey, wait!” June cried, reaching out and grabbing Quint by the wrist, “I was only teasing.”

“Yes, that is perfectly clear.” Quint said, shrugging off June’s grip as he turned back towards her, “And I am simply making it clear that I do not appreciate you making light of my emotions, loudly, to my face!” Quint hissed.

June stepped back lifting her hands in surrender. Quint could practically see the regret in her eyes, the concern spelled plainly across her face. Just like that, the wind was taken out of his sails. He sighed slouching back into his chair and burying his face once again.

Silence hung between them for a long, awkward moment, before June piped up.

“So… um… I guess we should probably address, um… whatever that was.” Quint couldn’t help but chuckle self-deprecatingly.

“I mean, do we really need to?” Quint rubbed his hands down his face, moving on to fidgeting with the rolled cuffs of his sleeves instead, “We could easily pretend this whole conversation never happened and go about the rest of our lives in blissful ignorance.” June pretended to consider his suggestion, before shrugging.

“Nah, that sounds too easy. I never take the easy way out.” She returned to her place on the table before gently nudging Quint’s shoulder, “Now seriously, are you okay if we talk about this?”

Quint looked up at her, then back down at his hands. After a moment of thought, he nodded.

“Okay, then. I guess, um… let’s start with the big one.” June shifted, pulling one leg up and fully facing Quint, “Is it the whole… Liking another guy thing?”

Quint took a second to think before replying.

“Um… I suppose that is obviously… a concern. That I have.” He scratched at his neck. “I recognise that it is still generally considered… abnormal.”

“Okay, maybe by some people but… Look around you Quint,” June said, gesturing vaguely to the whole of the neighbourhood, “There’s like, no one else here… no one else alive at least. Well, I guess there’s the monsters as well… But I can’t see them questioning it.” She shook her head. She was getting side-tracked, “You can’t seriously think any of _us_ would judge you for that.” Quint looked away.

“I know Jack would never judge me for this. In fact, I would be surprised if he did not already know… on some level at least.” Quint gulped, gaze once again dragged to his one-time bully across the field. ”Dirk on the other hand… it is difficult to say. On the one hand, I do not think he would truly judge me for my preferences, but… if he found out how much I was attracted to him specifically? Well…” Quint broke his gaze away, looking down at his lap, “Let us just say I would not blame him for being uncomfortable with that.”

June remained silent, gaze flitting between the two boys in her midst. As she did so she caught Dirk looking up briefly from his work. His eyes seemed drawn straight to Quint’s defeated form. His face morphed in concern. He met June’s gaze with his own questioning one. In reply she made several gestures trying to convey that she was handling it and that everything was fine. How much he believed her, she couldn’t really tell, but he did eventually go back to work.

After the exchange, her eyes settled back on Quint’s hunched form. She reached over and gave his shoulder a squeeze.

“All of that is fair and understandable. I obviously can’t vouch for anyone else, especially Dirk, but…” She shrugged, smiling as Quint finally met her gaze, “If you want my two cents, it probably wouldn’t be as bad as you think.” Quint seemed to consider this.

“Perhaps not, but in any case, can I ask you to keep this between us?” Quint asked shyly, “Just… for the meantime? I think I need to adjust to the idea of… sharing this openly.”

“Hey, no worries, dude. I would never tell a secret that wasn’t mine to tell. Well, unless it was for a big story.” June said with a wink, hopping off the desk. “Just… you know, give it a good think.” For the first time in the whole conversation, Quint gave her a genuine, if small, smile.

“Certainly.”

“Good.”

And with that, June left Quint to his research.

~.◊.~

It shouldn’t bug him. He knows better than to let it bug him.

It _really_ shouldn’t bug him.

Fuck it. It bugs him.

Dirk couldn’t help noticing that June had now spent a fairly long time sitting in Quint’s space. He also couldn’t help noticing the little argument that seemed to have broken out between them early in their conversation.

He really didn’t like how upset Quint looked.

He still didn’t exactly look happy.

Even after Dirk caught June’s eye and watched as she tried to reassure him from across the field, He couldn’t help keeping an eye out as he gardened.

It’s not that he didn’t trust June, it’s just that he didn’t necessarily trust June with Quint.

Specifically.

Yeah um…

So maybe Dirk has a few hang ups when it comes to Quint. Sue him.

Let’s not analyse that just now. June’s finally leaving.

Dirk waited approximately thirty-four seconds after June had climbed into the tree house before finishing up his tasks and wondering over to Quint’s outdoor workspace.

“Hey, you good?” Dirk asked, trying to look casual by leaning his weight on one hand placed squarely on Quint’s worktable, slinging his still damp shirt over his shoulder. Quint looked up at his question, squeaking as if startled.

“Oh, uh, of course!” Quint tried to laugh off the question. A standard evasive tactic, “Why would I not be? Uh, good, that is.” Dirk raised an eyebrow at the boy as he fidgeted nervously before shrugging,

“Thought June might’ve upset you earlier. Just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Quint seemed surprised by this.

“Oh, well, she did tease me briefly about something… personal.” At this Dirk frowned, but Quint was quick to placate, “But it is alright, we worked it out. Everything is fine now.”

Once again Dirk studied him briefly before replying.

“Alright if you say so. But if she ever steps too far out of line, let me know.” Dirk said, subconsciously moving into a more threatening posture, “I’d make sure she knows not to mess with you.”

Quint gaped at him for a moment, before laughing.

“Honestly Dirk, it was a misunderstanding. Everything is fine.”

“Like I said. If you say so. Now…” Dirk dragged over a lawn chair they’d recently rescued from another backyard, before settling into it and propping his feet up on the corner of Quint’s table, “I need a break, so why don’t you tell me what you’ve been working on while I rest my eyes and hands bit.”

Quint gaped at the larger boy once again.

“Are you serious?”

“Uh, ya. That’s why I asked.”

“Oh, I see.” Quint smiled to himself, blushing as he collected his notes, “Very well then. You recall the large gulping monster we ran into under the bridge the other day?”

“You mean the Gulper?”

“Precisely! Well, I was considering the possibility that…”

And as Quint continued on his adventure of the mind, Dirk couldn’t help but think smugly to himself that Quint would surely remember this exchange far more fondly than whatever had happened with June earlier.

Not that he was jealous or anything.

Nah. Definitely not.


End file.
